This has been an incredibly difficult week for sane Americans. We are thankful that Donald Trump survived the assassination attempt. Human civilization was just a stone’s throw away from an unimaginable hellish dystopia. A successful assassination would have put a definitive end to American unity and reached the limits of what the nation could endure.
We’ve all seen the horrifying and beautiful image over the past few days of Trump picking himself up from the ground, face bleeding, fists raised and yelling “Fight! Fight! Fight!” This may be the most American moment of our time.
But it’s good to step back and take a breather. Western movies can heal us and make us stronger. Let me give you a personal example.
I had a pretty bad panic attack a few weeks ago (I’m back from vacation and feeling much better now).
I’m basically burned out. My life as a father, my work, my friend life, my family life, my church life, everything is adjusted to the max. And then there are the pressures on a macro level: everything is so expensive, every meal is costing more, even fast food; an economy that is squeezing us all, a culture of relentless data and creeping darkness.
All of this combined can leave you exhausted, and I’m certainly not alone in this feeling.
After catching my breath and calming down after the panic attack, I watched a movie: North of Alaska, the 1960 John Wayne Western comedy. I’d started and stopped watching it about six times before. That day, I had to keep watching.
What a great movie. Light, energetic, fun, raucous and very entertaining. Just the right medicine to blow away the frustration I was carrying.
Today’s “Wednesday Western” is going to be one that doesn’t have much research because its message is simple: there is something very special about Westerns. Westerns support us in a unique way. Westerns have a brilliance and incredible power to have as an art form.
The bar scene with the giant fight had me laughing for the first time since my panic attack.
More than anything, North to Alaska reminded us that these movies we love are more than just entertainment. They’re friends. They’re allies. In a way, they’re supporting us.
As I watched “North to Alaska,” I felt like God was telling me, “Sit back, laugh, and soak in a good story.”
Sorry if this comes across as preachy or too personal. The last thing I want to do is embarrass myself or my family by talking too much about myself. I had an epiphany that I’m sure many of you are no doubt familiar with.
You, my readers, are a big part of why I love writing for Align. I don’t have to hide my faith, the core of my being, and what drives my writing. If I had to, I’d choose a different profession. Thank you for letting me be honest about my beliefs.
Where to watch ‘North to Alaska’
Amazon Prime: Rental fee is $3.79. Apple TV: $3.99. Google Play: $3.79. Fandango: $3.99.
My little cabbage
Is John Wayne’s Sam McCord naive, lazy, or actually one step ahead of everyone else? We don’t know.
There are plenty of moments of subtle humor.
“Well, I did my best. I have no choice but to face him.” Then his attitude changed and he concluded: “I guess I have no choice but to lie to him.”
“I wouldn’t wish this on a goat, but right now I wish you were Jenny.”
“Yes,” she growled, “a bullet to the head is always the best cure for love.”
The sound effects are hilarious, Wayne’s character is incredibly innocent, and part of the fun of his journey is guessing whether he actually knows what’s going on.
“Women,” he groaned. “I’ve yet to meet a woman I could trust half as much as a horse.”
Every line he speaks, every conversation is perfect.
“Why don’t you find the coolest spot by that hot stream and sit there, then get changed, and let’s go.”
There are plenty of moments of hilarious irony, such as the exchange in the cabin between lovelorn Billy Platt and our bewildered protagonist Sam McCord (Wayne).
“Sam, how do you know if you’re jealous?”
“Oh, why should I know?” he roared jealously.
“Well, I’m jealous.”
This irony adds a new dimension to a complicated love story.
I wasn’t drunk before, but now I am.
There are some incredible fight scenes: The long scene in the claims: This leads us to the scene under the waterfall where Sam and George punch each other.
Next, there’s a scene reminiscent of “Hondo” in which Wayne’s character, Hondo, throws a small child into a pond.
But unlike “Hondo,” “North to Alaska” is first and foremost a comedy, and a comedy of its own that’s refreshingly serious, more serious than “Support Your Local Sheriff!” but more silly than “True Grit” and nowhere near as tragic.
The Bible says:
One of my favorite Christian philosophers wrote about truth, and he said there are three entrances to truth, three cultural pathways to discovering Christ: history, language, and art. We find truth through our shared history, human language, and the faculty of art.
Of these three, language is the most important. He who has language has the world. Truth is language. Truth exists in and through language. Truth fades but is eternally renewable. All life moves towards language.
Language, the voice of words, sets us free. It is what separates us from animals and allows us to connect with one another. We understand ourselves and those around us through language. Words thrive within each of us as thoughts. Plato described thought as an infinite dialogue between souls.
A philosopher of mine once said, “Language only becomes truly present in conversation, in the practice of understanding between people.”
This entire process also happens through the arts: the arts, including the films we’re discussing, help us understand ourselves, connect with other people, and guide us toward truth, healing, and redemption.
You are a good drug
Something miraculous happened during a panic attack. That’s why I felt this movie was the medicine I needed. After the panic attack was at its worst, I sat down at the kitchen table. I just sat. The house became very quiet, which is rare in our house. I closed my eyes.
Then I heard the tiny voice of a four-year-old say, “Is this yours?”
She handed me the most ornate bookmark I’d ever seen, and before I could ask her where she got it, she ran off.
The house was quiet again as I read these words.
Because I’m here
please do not
Concerned:
I am your God.
i will do it
Make you stronger,
I will help you,
I support
You and
My Victory
right hand.
—Isaiah 41:10
It was perhaps the most humbling and glorious moment of my life: I felt the arms of Christ envelop me.
Apparently the bookmark had been in a letter my daughter had opened from a church I had never been to (something she would never do), and the timing of her going to pick up the mail at that exact moment.
She was four years old, she couldn’t read, she didn’t know what it said, and I hope she didn’t realize how much I needed heavenly help.
These words from thousands of years ago, empowered by the universality of Christ, could not have been more perfect. Imagine the possibilities. There is no logical explanation.
Another verse explains everything we’re discussing: “Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes have been clearly seen, being understood through what he has made, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, so that man is without excuse”—Romans 1:20 (Common English Bible).
